Spydie Military vs. BM 710

Shmackey

Shmackey

Joined
May 5, 2000
Messages
1,478
I can get a Spydie Military or a Benchmade 710 Axis for about $100 online. Can't decide! Love the axis lock (esp. the way it closes, no fingers in the path) but I know the Military is top-quality. Blade length about the same, handle material about the same. General everyday knife for me. Any ideas? I have no brand loyalty here.
Shmackey
 
Well, I own both (actually, two 710's, and one Military). And, I'm actually carrying both right now. There has been MUCH said about both of these, but here is what stands out to me.

Both of the knives are about the same length closed. Well, nearly. The Military is about a half inch longer. The 710 is thicker (side to side), but the Military is wider (spine to edge). The makes a big difference when it comes down to carrying them. I have no problem comfortably carrying the Military IWB, clipped behind my belt. This makes for an extremely covert carry, in spite of the fact that there is at least 3/4" of the handle sticking up above the waist band. My shirt just falls naturally over it and it is hidden. To comfortably carry the 710, I need to clip it to a pocket. I can carry it IWB as well, very well concealed, but over long term it starts to become unfortable because of its shape and thickness.

The steels of the blades are just not that much different, IMO. Both the ATS-34 and the 440V take a nice edge, and hold it just as well. Or so close that I can't discern a difference. The 440V takes a slightly keener edge, so it feels sharper. But, in actually using the two, there just isn't much difference. If you're going to use the knife a lot for utility, I would probably upgrade to the 710HS (with M2 steel), as that is by far my favorite steel. It takes a keener edge than either ATS-34 or 440V, and holds it just as long or longer than either. It just isn't stainless, but that isn't a factor for me.

I carry the Military as my using/utility knife. I carry the 710 for any use where I absolutely, positively have to trust the lock. The 710 is my substitute for the fixed blades that are a little difficult to carry covertly in the summer. The Military has a strong lock, but it is a liner lock, and I just won't trust that lock as much as the axis lock, ultimately.

So, I hope all this rambling helps a bit, or at least gives you some things to think about. If you have more questions, you can post them here, or e-mail me directly. And I'm sure as soon as some others see this thread, you'll get plenty more answers.

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iktomi
 
I own both knives and while the Axis is a great knife, I prefer the Military for the ease of opening, blade shape, steel, slimness and the tip down carry.
 
I own both the Military and the 710 Axis Lock. My preference? If we go by what's in my pocket right now I'd have to say the Military.

Here is what I like about the Military, in no particulary order:

1. The full flat grind.
2. The length of the handle, in conjunction with the pommel swell, which I believe could facilitate retention in an emergency.
3. The flatness of the handle, which contributes to carry comfort and ease of indexing/drawing.
4. The recessed liner and super-thin washers, which make for a very well-supported blade (not much chance of lateral blade wobble).
5. The accuteness of the tip and full distal taper.
6. The choil, which comes in very handy for hard whittling.

Here is what I like about the 710, again in no particular order:

1. I can deploy the knife very quickly, without having to use the thumb stud: just grab the handle and shake the blade open.
(My Military has too good a ball-detent to do this, which is fine with me.)
2. I like the Axis Lock, which tends to hold the blade closed.
3. I like the handle shape, after having dremelled off most of the awkwardly placed thumb-ramp peak.
4. The recurved blade is nice, but not nice enough to offset the added difficulty of sharpening. (I had to do some serious re-profiling to improve the factory edge, which took about three hours on the Sharpmaker)

One other observation I would like to make, perhaps in opposition to conventional wisdom, is that I am not convinced that the Axis Lock is safer than the Military's liner lock, in terms of the possibility of accidental disengagement. Perhaps the Axis Lock is more reliable, if you can keep your thumb away from the lock release button.

I hope this helps

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AKTI Member # A000846
Stop when you get to bone.
 
Thanks! Great info so far. I agree that the steel isn't a good enough difference to choose one over the other. Actually, I was set to go with the 710 but I noticed two things: (1) the thumb studs don't protrude past the scales on the one I saw, which makes them a little hard to use. Much easier to flick this one open. (2) The axis lock is certainly very strong but it does seem like you could accidentally just pull back the lock buttons, depending on how you're holding the knife. I guess no lock is perfect.

Do people agree that the Military is very easy to open? Seemed that way to me--more so than other hole-in-the-blade models. The info at www.chaicutlery.com claims that it's the easiest knife to open anywhere, which is high praise indeed. But that's a different thread altogether.
 
Originally posted by Shmackey:
(2) The axis lock is certainly very strong but it does seem like you could accidentally just pull back the lock buttons, depending on how you're holding the knife. I guess no lock is perfect.

Do people agree that the Military is very easy to open? Seemed that way to me--more so than other hole-in-the-blade models.
Click to expand...

I would disagree that the Military is very easy to open. Well, maybe easy, but not easiest. The BM Ascent is easier, for me. As is the AFCK, and the mini-AFCK. The 710 is the easiest by far for me.

As far as accidentally unlocking it... I suppose if you were trying to pull the blade out of something you stabbed, you could pull that thumb release back. Or maybe in some kind of unusual (for me) hold while trying to cut. But, in general, the type of cutting that I do where I would worry about the lock disengaging results in my pushing the thumb studs forward, or not touching them at all. Like I said above, my Military is with me now for utility; the 710 is with me for more social reasons, or where I actually need a fixed blade. Yeah, maybe the Military is 100% reliable. But, I don't trust liner-locks. Period. The only reason that I bought it (my only liner-lock) is the index finger choil lets you actually hold the blade while cutting, instead of just the handle. OBTW, the AFCK and mini- that I said were easier, were other people's.

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iktomi
 
I noticed the same thing regarding the scales on my 710 being about the same height as the thumb stud. But all it took was about 3 minutes with a small round file (slightly less than the diameter of a drinking straw) and I was able to put a very nice little semi-circular scallop shaped depression in the G10 scales. Opening is very reliable now.

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Semper Fi
 
I would get the 710 with no hesitation. As for your two concerns: the thumb stud does rest right up against the handle, but you don't open the knife by putting your thumb right on top of the stud and rotating out. You simply slide your thumb along down the handle until it runs into the stud and the stud will pop right out and almost flick the blade completely open so that your thumb doesn't even remain in contact with the stud while the blade is openning. I don't like the military because it has a blade heavy balance and I see no reason why it has to be so thin and light. My pockets can hold a thicker knife, and I don't think I would be weighed down by two full metal liners. I also took my military appart after some dirt got in the pivot. The bronze washers are more like amber colored cellophane disks. They are just like plastic hole punch savers that you stick on papers in three ring binders. The Military will slice better than the axis because of the flat grind, but I would still take the axis over it any day.
Don't be concerned about releasing the axis lock while using the knife. The springs are quite stiff and they hold that bar very solidly. I actually still have trouble closing the knife without holding both sides of the lock bar and pulling back simultaneously. The springs are too strong for me to comfrotably close the knife by just pushing one side of the bar back with my thumb alone.

[This message has been edited by generallobster (edited 05-05-2000).]
 
I don't have a BM (yet - but there're two on the way), but the Military is one awesome knife. You won't be disappointed with it. It's easy to deploy, with or without gloves, and is one real strong blade!

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Champions make improvements as fast as losers make excuses.
 
Shmakey - I see that you're in Denver. I don't know if you're already familiar with it, but the Spyderco Factory Outlet store is in Golden, a mere 20 minutes or so from Denver. If you haven't been there yet, you should definitely check it out. They have all available Spyderco models there and usually offer big discounts to customers that shop in person. If you do decide on the Military (which is probably my all-around favorite folding knife and the one I'd recommend), it's a safer bet to get from SFO.
 
Both are excellent knives..
I prefer the Military..
It carries tip down, slimmer profile, larger handle, flat ground, easy to deploy..
Hope this helps..
 
These two knives are like a prize fight
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I have tried both, and did keep an open mind when using the Military, but in my opinion the 710 just has a more solid feel. I cant use the 710 because the handle feels too short in my hand, but if I had to choose I would go with the 710.

Granted, I did not use the Military as long as the 710, so my comparison may not be as balanced as it should be
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Dark Nemesis

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All the knives in the world go round and round, round and round, round and round...DAMN, one of them took my wallet !!! :)
 
Thanks for the great info, everyone. I checked them out again yesterday. They're really very different from each other. Similar because they're both the best-made quality knives from each company, but the blades are very different (Spydie blade more suited to chopping, BM for um, sticking...) and the handles are too (BM handle is smaller but solid, Military handle is huge). The military is a lot of knife while still staying legal (I'm in New York a lot and you can't go over 4").
To throw in another question about these two: the military I played with yesterday was pretty tight and not really "flickable" to open. Are most like this? The BM, of course, is very very easy to open. I've seen militaries that were easy to flick, but maybe their owners did some modifying.
(Then again, maybe I should just get an Endura and a Cold Steel 6" tanto for the same price...
wink.gif
 
Not all Militaries are easy to flick open, although some are very easy. Depends on the ball-detent. I don't like the prospect of having a blade swing open in my pocket, so I made sure the two Militaries I bought had very strong ball-detents. If you'd rather have speed than safety, you will probably be able to fine a really fast Military. Comparing my two Militaries and my 710, the 710 is faster, by a fraction of a second. The difference in deployment speed, as far as I'm concerned, is inconsequential.

For me, the important difference between the Military and the 710 is handle shape and size.

David Rock

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AKTI Member # A000846
Stop when you get to bone.
 
I have the 710 with M2 steel, and it is my knife of choice for daily carry. I can open it and close it in a flash by holding back on the axis lock. I don't care how slick a Military or BM AFCK opens, they don't compare to how quickly and easily I can open and close my 710. With the M2 steel I can go hack through brush in the woods all day, and still come back and shave hair off my arm. I wouldn't worry about the axis lock disengaging by accidental pressing agains the locking pin. I find when there is pressure on the blade, the lock won't budge easily. The Military is a fine knife as well, but if you find yourself with only one had free most of the time, the 710 is a joy.

-Wade in PA
 
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